WWE RAW HITS & MISSES (9/16): CM Punk’s promo, Jey Uso-Bron Breakker build, Strowman vs. Reed, Priest vs. Dominik, Sami-Kaiser exchange, more

C.M. Punk – HIT: Raw got off to a good start with the opening promo from CM Punk. He was serious and intense as was needed for this feud. I could have used less talk about death, but if you are going to have that type of talk in a wrestling angle, this would be the one to do it in. Hell in a Cell makes perfect sense for this match, and it is nice to see WWE build to a HIAC match more organically like this, than just shoe-horning a feud into a HIAC match because of the name of a PLE. I’m looking forward to Drew McIntyre’s rebuttal next week.

Sheamus vs. Dunne – HIT: This is a marginal Hit for the very good work in the ring from Sheamus and Pete Dunne despite a weak ending. I enjoyed enough of the match to give it a Hit despite the end with Dunne taking advantage of the referee being distracted to hit Sheamus with a conveniently placed cricket bat. The rest of the match was very strong and we’ll see where they go from here after Dunne picked up the win.

Uso – Breakker – HIT: I thoroughly enjoyed the in ring encounter between Jey Uso and Bron Breakker. They both did a good job of the mic. Breakker hasn’t been well defined as a babyface or a heel. Recently, he has given off more of a face feel to me, and he was leaning into that more in his segment, but not entirely. However, the spear at the end of the show was certainly more of a heel move. I liked how Breakker juxtaposed his non-use of his family’s name with Jey’s career being so tied into the Bloodline. But, Uso got in some good lines too. They have done a nice job of building to that Intercontinental Championship match next week on Raw.

Tag Title Match – HIT: It was good to see JD McDonagh & Finn Balor finally defend their Tag Team Championship. And it was a good match between them and The New Day. In the end, this was more about the story of New Day’s breaking up than about the Title match, but that’s ok. The heel Champs needed the win, and got one here, even if it involved some outside distractions from the rest of Judgment Day and the LWO. If WWE wanted to continue this New Day story without Odyssey Jones, they needed to make some changes. They have done so, while keeping the basic idea of the loss of Big E, how it effects the other two, and the growing anger of Xavier Woods over the lack of communication from Kofi Kingston.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro to stream Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Raw: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)

Strowman – Reed – HIT: Normally, I would be against having Bronson Reed throw a ring-side fan at Braun Strowman. I have complained in the past about similar actions which would result in a law suit and a wrestler being fired (as opposed to being suspended or fined). But this was so great, I have to give it a Hit. I greatly enjoyed the brawl between these two monsters when they were supposed to have a match. It kept escalating. Just when I thought it was over (a few times), it kept going. The early spot with the fan was awesome. The fight kept going and kept getting more physical. The ending with the crash through the fake wall wasn’t good. It wasn’t needed. The rest of the fight had been so good, that it is a shame that WWE ended it that way. But, it was still a super fun segment.

Zayn – Kaiser – HIT: WWE continued to do a good job of building to the eventual World Title match between Sami Zayn and Gunther. This week, they put the focus on Ludwig Kaiser. Zayn did a nice job of planting seeds of dissension between Kaiser and Gunther. It didn’t work, and Kaiser played his role very well where he showed a little bit of doubt about his relationship with Gunther. The physicality worked also, and Gunther continued to refuse to accept Zayn’s challenge. Next week’s match between Zayn and Kaiser should be good.

Bel Air vs. Sky – HIT: This match between Bianca Bel Air and Iyo Sky started off a little too over choreographed for my tastes, but it got very good after that. It was interesting to hear the announcers say that Bel Air had only lost one match this year. That did sort of telegraph the idea that Bel Air was going to lose, but that’s the typical pattern for WWE where the possible Title challenger will defeat the Champion in a non-Title match. So, the outcome was predictable, but most of the match was so good between these two very talented workers, that I still am giving it a Hit.

Main Event Build – HIT: WWE did a nice job throughout the show of building towards the main event of Damian Priest vs. Dominik Mysterio. There were several backstage scenes involving the Terror Twins (gag) and Judgment Day, along with appearances from Jey Uso, Xavier Woods and Ilya Dragunov all doing a nice job of framing the various stories that WWE is telling with these wresters. My favorite bit was when Finn Balor told Uso that Rhea Ripley is out of his league so he should focus on his upcoming IC Title match, followed by Ripley saying that Balor was right, and Uso asking “that you’re out of my league?” Ripley and Uso have a nice chemistry. This is all building to Priest vs. Balor at Bad Blood, but it also kept the focus on the main event this week.

Main Event – HIT: The main event delivered after the strong build. Priest needed the win, so having him go over despite the cheating from Judgment Day was the right way to go. He showed great fire by fending off their various attempts to cheat. Ripley was good too in trying to help him. The post-match beat down worked well. The timing of the spear from Breakker on Uso as he came to Priest’s aid seemed a little late, but that was a minor problem. I was curious if Dragunov would make an appearance, but he didn’t. That made sense given that he is just starting to get involved in this story.

)Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com’s WWE Raw Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com.)

Stay right here and keep the flow going. We think you’ll like to read this next…

RECOMMENDED NEXT: WWE RAW RESULTS (9/16): Pomares’s alt-perspective report New Day challenging Judgment Day, CM Punk’s return, Dom vs. Priest, Bronson vs. Strowman, more

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: CM Punk promo, Damian Priest vs. Dominik Mysterio, Gunther and Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh vs. New Day for the World Tag Titles, Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair